British royals gather for Easter service, with Andrew and his family absent

LONDON- Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla attended the traditional Easter service at Windsor Castle on Sunday, joined by his eldest son and heir to the throne Prince William, wife Catherine, and their three children at St George's Chapel.

The Easter Matins service is an important fixture in the calendar of the king, who is supreme governor of the Church of England.

The Dean of Windsor, Christopher Cocksworth, greeted Charles and Camilla, who wore a red hat and coat, as they arrived for the Easter Matins, which was also attended by Prince Edward and Anne, the Princess Royal, and other royals.

Charles and Camilla, who was handed a posy of flowers, wished "Happy Easter" to members of the crowd after the service ended.

The monarch's younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was arrested in February by police on suspicion of misconduct in public office, was absent after attending last year's Easter gathering accompanied by ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.

Their daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, were also absent on Sunday. The decision to miss Sunday's service was the princesses' choice, not Charles', a royal source said last week.

King Charles, who did not deliver an Easter message this year, was urged on Saturday by the family of Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre to meet survivors during his state visit to the U.S. later this month. They said the trip coincided with the anniversary of her death.

Giuffre had accused the late U.S. financier Epstein of trafficking her to Mountbatten-Windsor, when she was 17.

The disgraced former prince, who has denied the allegations and said he had no recollection of meeting Giuffre, reached an out-of-court settlement with her in 2022 without admitting wrongdoing.

Separately, Sarah Mullally, the archbishop of Canterbury and the first woman to head the Church of England, delivered her first Easter sermon at Canterbury Cathedral on Sunday.

-Reporting by Suban Abdulla;Editing by Helen Popper/Reuters